Self-titled debut album out on April 17th!
MANALI is an atmospheric and droning doom/sludge metal quartet from Slicetown, aka Kolding, Denmark. The band has existed since 2020 and was originally formed as an instrumental trio, who released two demos in close succession in 2021–22. In terms of genre, the music initially took its point of departure in stoner rock, but the expression gradually changed as a new drummer, synth, and vocals were added. This development marked a clear shift and shaped the band’s current more simple, direct, and uncompromising expression, as first heard on ‘Rehearsal promo MMXXIV’ released on cassette in 2024 and followed by a string of Danish shows.
MANALI has now completed their self-titled debut album, where, drawing inspiration from bands such as Gaia and Yob, they have found a balance in which the primitive and caveman-like meets cathartic and emotional outbursts. MANALI’s debut record was recorded live in an old warehouse in the summer of 2025, and this is clearly audible in the recordings: the music is presented raw and unpolished, with small variations in the riffs and passages that the listener moves through.
Thematically, Manali revolves around contrasts, conflicts, and encounters with society’s norms and the expectations of others—the feeling of being unable to find one’s place, of being uncomfortable, deselected, and experiencing feelings of misanthropic numbness and shame. With the release of their debut album, MANALI marks its right to exist through a heavy, distorted soundscape that slowly envelops the listener, and lyrics that deal with dualism as a human condition and a circumstance that most people can recognize.
(Photograph by Thomas Peber Sørensen)
https://www.facebook.com/Manalidoom/
https://www.instagram.com/manali.band/
